Brenna Finn Email & Phone Number

Denver, Colorado

I currently represent the Colorado Department of Agriculture in the Business & Licensing Section at the Colorado Department of Law. I act as general counsel to the Department on a variety of matters, including enforcing the Department's pesticide registration and application laws (often before the Office of Administrative Courts or via settlement with the alleged violator); revising and amending statutes and regulations impacting the Department's Plant Industry Division; advising the Colorado State Conservation Board; and counseling the Department with respect to Colorado Open Records Act requests.

Denver, Colorado, United States

I taught Food and Pesticide Regulation, a class open to all students regardless of year. This course tracked the genesis and evolution of pesticide use and regulation at the state and federal level, focusing on the tension between society’s need for production of food versus the need to protect human health and the environment against unreasonable adverse effects associated with pesticide use. We cover concepts including pesticide registration and use, toxic torts, risk assessment, organic production and certification, pesticide tolerances on food, impacts on endangered and threatened species, pesticide use on cannabis, international bans on certain products, alternatives to conventional pesticide use, first amendment issues associated with pesticide labeling, and environmental justice.

Greater Denver Area

Representative projects included: 1) Responded to information requests from federal agencies in a manner that best protects client interests, including confidential business information, trade secret, and privacy interests2) Represented a theatre company on a petition for administrative mandamus to contest an unlawful cleanup and abatement order issued by a regional water quality control board in California3) Served as a liaison between a national paint and coatings manufacturer, project investors, and opposing counsel to complete environmental due diligence and address issues identified during the same for a high-profile stock purchase and asset transfer agreement4) Analyzed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ability to hold a tenant liable forcontamination as a de facto landowner under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)5) Counseled a chemical manufacturer on registration and marketing requirements for pesticide and personal care products

Greater Denver Area

See above.

Denver, Colorado

Representative projects included: 1) Negotiating with federal and state agencies to settle civil claims and related penalty amounts;2) Drafting litigation hold memoranda and various pleadings, including complaints, reply briefs, oppositions to motions to stay, motions for preliminary injunction, and briefings on entitlement to discovery;3) Responding to information requests from state and federal agencies in a manner that best protects clients’ interests, including confidential business information, trade secret, and privacy interests;4) Coordinating and leading root cause investigations regarding operational performance and personnel issues;5) Guiding developers and investors through permitting and other regulatory matters during the course of acquisition and project development; 6) Drafting purchase and sale or asset transfer agreement language related to environmental liabilities, duties, and obligations; 7) Overseeing audits for company compliance with various environmental laws and regulations;8) Developing, coordinating, and completing crisis management plans and communications, including drafting relevant access, indemnification, and remediation agreements during the crisis management process; 9) Interacting with federal and state regulators to voluntarily self-disclose noncompliance with regulatory requirements in order to better situate companies when, and if, regulators initiate enforcement action; and10) Producing persuasive papers and marketing materials highlighting corporate policies and priorities to skeptical audiences.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Representative projects included:1) Counseled multiple chemical manufacturers, distributers, and importers with respect to notification of new chemical substances in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and China; 2) Assisted a major chemical company in an internal audit for compliance with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA);3) Analyzed the eligibility of chemical corporations to claim certain chemical substances as exempt from listing on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory pursuant to the narrow statutory exemptions;4) Helped a client obtain favorable consent order language with respect to testing and use of carbon nanotube products;5) Advised a major biotechnology client on requirements and best practices associated with filing a TSCA Environmental Release Application and Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN) with EPA’s New Chemicals Program Office; 6) Reviewed agricultural and antimicrobial pesticide labels and advertising for compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); 7) Lectured on the cost of doing business and the regulated nature of pesticide production at a course attended by regulatory and legal personnel from multiple pesticide and chemical companies; 8) Represented a small business client in a FIFRA enforcement action and subsequent settlement negotiation concerning the distribution and sale of an unregistered pesticide product; 9) Assisted a client comply with federal and state stormwater permitting obligations associated with construction of an on-site structure; and10) Provided counsel to a client with respect to the Bevill Exemption under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for beneficial use of coal combustion residuals.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Representative projects from this period:1) Advocated for membrane filtration methods to decontaminate drinking water from the Croton Watershed in New York; 2) Advised clients on pesticide registration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 3) Drafted client alerts sent to over one-hundred clients on TSCA and FIFRA updates; and4) Represented a pesticide client's product at the Florida Turfgrass Association Conference.

J.D., Cum Laude

A.B., Cum Laude, History